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The Federal Reserve said that it would maintain its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying programme but gave no clear indication when it may start to scale back purchases.

The decision, which reflects uncertainty about the strength of the economic recovery and
fiscal policy disagreements in Washington, means that many analysts do not expect the first tapering until well into next year.

The Fed maintained a degree of optimism, saying that the economy had continued to grow “at a moderate pace”, an assessment that suggested the effects of the 16-day federal government shutdown this month had not been fully accounted for. “Taking into account